Monosaccharides physiologic importance

The oligosaccharides commonly encountered in nature belong to disaccharides. The physiologically important disaccharides are maltose, lactose, trehalose and sucrose. Disaccharides consist of two monosaccharides joined covalently by an O-glycosidic bond. The hydroxyl group formed as a result of hemiacetal formation is highly reactive when compared to other hydroxyl groups. This... 

Chapter 8 is a review of the use of polysaccharides, perhaps some of the oldest and most well-known ingredients used in personal care. Because polysaccharides are derived from natural sources, the nature of the monosaccharides that comprise these sugar-based polymers and how nature designs the polysaccharides are addressed first. This discussion is followed by greater details of individual cosmetically important polysaccharides based primarily on the ionic nature of the polysaccharide, that is, anionic, cationic, nonionic, or amphoteric, which can be either naturally developed by the polysaccharide source or manipulated by human intervention and invention. The effects of hydrophobic modification of polysaccharides are also discussed. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of certain polysaccharides that appear to have physiological effects on the human body when applied topically. 

This chapter on saccharides is divided into two main parts. The first part describes major monosaccharides, and their functional derivatives, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Their structure and nomenclature, occurrence in major food commodities, properties and importance in human physiology and nutrition, recommended intake and use in food technology are all described. The second part is devoted to reactions of saccharides that lead to the formation of products that influence odour, taste and colour of foods, and to reactions taking place during storage and thermal processing of food raw materials and foods. 

The change brought about by dietary fibre in faecal bulk illustrates several things about fibre. Perhaps the most important is that not all types of dietary fibre are the same. Each fibre source is unique in its botanical structure, its physical properties, its monosaccharide composition so far as they have been tested, each is unique in its ability to affect human physiology. It is clearly most unwise to extrapolate from the effects of one type of fibre to the likely effects of another. 

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